Protesters seek Beijing talks

Hong Kong students leading a month of street protests for democracy are suggesting direct negotiations with senior Chinese Communist Party officials as a way of ending a stand-off with the local government.

The protest leaders said today that they want the Hong Kong government to convey their demands for greater democracy to Beijing. If that is not possible, they want to arrange a meeting with Chinese premier Li Keqiang and other officials so they can get their views across.

They laid out their demands in an open letter to Hong Kong’s number two official after the students and the government held talks last week that were mostly fruitless.

Protesters have been occupying main streets in three neighbourhoods across Hong Kong since September 28.